You are familiar with the Southwest Community Center if you live in Santa Ana. Caring volunteers assist unsheltered and at-risk people with hot meals, diaper distributions, financial empowerment workshops, and housing assistance. Of course, this non-profit organization cannot exist without donations. The operators recently asked the Lobby Signs Irvine team to put together the perfect donor tree for the Orange County location.
A Non-Profit Thanks Donors with Public Recognition
Because funding partners make the programs possible that the staff at the Southwest Community Center administer, a simple “Thank You” note was not enough. Instead, the non-profit wanted to highlight its partnerships. Doing so has a three-fold effect.
- Recognize donors publicly. Donors for the non-profit are churches, foundations, and private individuals. Seeing their names reinforces the relationship between organizations and donors.
- Show donation levels. While the client shied away from revealing actual dollar amounts, they did group donors into categories of champions, leaders, and sustainers. Color-coding the display and offering an explanation in the form of a plaque works well.
- Encourage would-be donors to come forward. Visitors to the facility and volunteers recognize the opportunity to become involved in serving the Santa Ana community. Therefore, seeing a highly-visible donor tree could be an excellent nudge for other groups to get involved.
Working with Spatial Challenges
The client requested the design of an actual tree that would be tall and allow space for a spreading canopy of leaves and fruits. Doing so would typically require dedicated wall space, but there was little of that at the facility. After conducting a site survey, our specialists designed a work-around that allowed for the use of the focal wall. The tree had to be created in two pieces and mounted above and below a serving hutch.
Fabricating a Tasteful, Effective, and Visually Stimulating Donor Tree
With the measurements taken, and the challenges overcome, it was time for our technicians to fabricate the product’s style elements. The tree trunk pieces, branches, leaves, and apples are made from acrylic. The client selected the colors. We painted the features accordingly. Next, our technicians imprinted these pieces with donors’ information.
The other product we put together was a plaque. It features several fonts, bolding, and italics to create an elegant signage solution. Moreover, this plaque encapsulates the non-profit’s branding by spelling out the mission that drives the volunteers and staff members. We installed the plaque to the right of the donor tree at eye height. Also, notice that we designed the donor tree to have space for future mentions of new donors.
Are You Looking for a Way to Honor Your Organization’s Donors?
Lobby Signs Irvine specializes in the design, fabrication, and installation of donor trees for Orange County non-profits. We can help you overcome space concerns, design obstacles, and budget worries. Similarly, since one size never fits all, we collaborate with you on putting together a product that is ideally suited for the location, mission, and work you embrace.
Our shop works with non-profits all across Orange County, including Santa Ana, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Costa Mesa, Orange, Irvine, Anaheim, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, and Newport Beach. Call us today!